This Child is MINE!
by LesboDyke
Summary: Regina took Snow's baby, but not in the way you think.
1. Chapter 1

**Pauley: Okay, this idea has been rattling around in my head for a long while and I was finally able to stick my words down on paper. So enjoy :)**

* * *

"Go! Take Emma!" Snow begged, handing the newborn over to her husband. James nodded and took off and Doc squeezed Snow's hand

"Just the afterbirth now, keep pushing." Snow gritted her teeth and did as she was told, but Doc's surprised gasp broke her concentration.  
"I don't mean to alarm you Snow, but there's another baby coming." Snow screamed again, although she wasn't sure of it was from pain or surprise as she was once again overcome with the need to push. A moment or two later, a thin, weak cry sounded as Doc lifted up another baby, far smaller and weaker sounding than Emma had been. Doc wrapped it up in a blanket before gently passing the bundle to Snow.  
"It's a girl." He said and Snow stared down at the newborn baby who was hiccuping and wailing quietly.

Before Snow could even name her second daughter the door swung open with an almighty crash and Regina stormed into the room. Snow scooted farther back the bed, pulling the baby closer to her chest in a protective manner. Regina smirked, knocking Doc aside easily, stalking towards the bed and bending, plucking the child from Snow's arms, ignoring Snow's weak attempt at fighting back. Snow watched in horror as Regina drew the child to her chest in a mockery of a mothers touch, gently brushing a hand over the newborns head. Regina hissed something out in Latin and although Snow's grasp of Latin was always shaky, she understood the word 'Baby' and she tried to lunge forward to take her child back, but Regina just stepped away with a cruel smirk.

**~Two Months Later~**

Regina sighed as she hauled herself out of her bed once again. Lily was awake again, and crying. Most likely hungry. But then again, Lily was always hungry. Regina didn't know what exactly was wrong with her daughter, but it was most likely something to do with her stomach, but she had Whale running every test he was able and in the time in between, Regina just did what she could to settle the poor child.

She headed into the nursery, smiling softly at the tiny blonde baby who was kicking her thin little legs under her blanket.  
"Hey Lily beautiful." Regina greeted quietly as she carefully lifted the girl, making sure she was wrapped tightly in the blanket to keep her safe. Regina yawned as she headed down the stairs and into the kitchen, setting the kettle to boil as she rocked the tiny baby. Lily had barely grown in the two months Regina had had her, and she knew that the baby was supposed to grow, she'd edited the curse so that she would because even if she wanted to deny Snow White and everyone else their happy endings, that was no reason for her daughter to forever be trapped as a newborn.

Lily continued to wail weakly in her Mother's arms as the kettle boiled, far too slowly for the Queen's liking. Finally, once the bottle was ready, she started to feed the girl, at last silencing her cries. After Lily had finished the bottle and Regina had winded her, she decided, rather than putting the tiny girl back in her crib only to have to get up again an hour or two later, she would bring the kettle, the formula and Lily into her own room, at least so the next trip wouldn't be quite as long for the tired woman.

**~Time after Curse: 1 year~**

Regina received the message only five minutes after it was sent, and the only reason she hadn't answered the phone was because she was setting Lily down for her nap.  
"The final results are back, you need to come in today, I have an appointment made for you both at five." Regina sighed heavily and mentally prepared herself for the worst. Many people would never believe it, but she did love her daughter, because that's what the tiny sleeping girl upstairs had become. /Her/ daughter.

As usual, Lily didn't sleep for long, but she never did, she was constantly waking up hungry. The insistant whining noises that accompanied her daughter's awakening broke Regina from her thoughts and moved her into action as she headed towards the stairs, carefully lifting the small child. Still Lily was smaller than your average one year old, she always would be Regina thought. Regina was actually surprised that the blonde had grown at all, but as slow as the process had been, Lily had grown, bit by bit.

Cooing quietly to the girl, Regina changed and dressed her as if on autopilot, smiling softly as Lily produced spit bubbles as she giggled. Again Regina lifted her daughter, carefully kissing the top of her head before carrying her downstairs and buckling her into her stroller.  
"Come on then Lilypad. We're going to go see Dr Whale." As if she recognised the name, Lily pulled a disgusted face and kicked her legs, making Regina laugh.  
"I know, I know, you don't like him. But it's important that you see him Lily, Mommy just wants to get you better." Everyone they passed greeted them, a couple bending to speak quietly to Lily, who was quite happy to suck up the attention with giggles and smiles. Especially, Regina thought sourely, when Mary Margaret bent in front of the pram. Lily almost lit up at the appearance of the school teacher and she giggled happily. Mary Margeret reached in and chucked her under the chin with a smile.

"Hey there sweetie. You're not being trouble for your Mommy are you?" Lily squealed and giggled happily and Regina frowned again.

"Excuse me Miss Blanchard, we have to be going now." Mary Margaret straightened and nodded with a sigh.

"Alright. Goodbye Regina. Bye Lily." She said the last part with a sickeningly sweet smile before walking on. Regina grumbled darkly under her breath, phrases in Latin that in the other world would have turned Snow into dust and more as she continued towards the hospital.

Once Regina was seated in Dr Whales office, Lily playing her teething toys quietly in her pram. Dr Whale sighed quietly as he glanced at the child.

"It's not good news Regina. Lily has... a defect in her stomach. She only takes in the nutrients from about ten percent of her food. There's only one thing we can do for her. A daily drip of nutrients directly into her bloodstream. We'll have to do this for the rest of her life... which unfortunately won't be very long. Because of this defect, her stomach acid will eventually begin to just eat away at her stomach before entering her blood. She'll be lucky to live past eighteen." Regina sat in silent shock, staring at her beautiful daughter as she played, completely unaware of the life-changing conversation that was going on around her.

The rest of the conversation was about how to perform an IV. Regina hooked it up several times to a dummy arm, hooking it up correctly each time and finally Dr Whale agreed that she could do it. He wrote her out a perscription before bending to tickle under Lily's chin gently, causing the one year old to squeal and giggle, kicking her legs. Regina smiled sadly as she stood, thanking Dr Whale before wheeling Lily home.

**~Next day~**

A nurse came round to help Regina the first time she had to give Lily her IV. Lily kicked, cried, whined and fussed the entire time they tried, crying and screaming. The noise broke what was left of Regina's heart and she shooed the nurse away for a moment to settle her daughter and try to explain what was going on. Again they tried and although Lily continued to whine unhappily, they succeeded to get it in this time and Regina sat, reading to her for the entire half an hour it took for the IV to drain into the girls blood.

Over the next few days, Regina noticed a change in her little blonde angel. She was growing at a more normal rate and putting on weight. She had much more energy and she seemed more vibrant. More alive.

It was a week or so later that Lily spoke for the first time. Regina wasn't expecting it at all, but out of nowhere she heard it coming through the baby monitor, a quiet, but very clear little voice.

"Mommy... Mommy..." Regina raced up the stairs and burst through the door to the nursery, scooping the child up into her arms and peppering her face with kisses. Lily continued to repeat the word, grinning brightly and hugging her Mother.

Regina proudly wheeled her beautiful baby girl into the Diner and lifted her onto her hip as she stood in front of the counter.  
"Ruby, Ruby listen to this." She prompted, bouncing Lily gently with a smile. Lily frowned slightly before realising where she was and grinning again.

"Mommy!" She exclaimed happily and Ruby beamed along with Regina and Lily.

"Clever girl Lily." She said, reaching over and tickling Lily's side, making her giggle and squeal, kicking her legs happily.

Lily developed quickly after that, speaking more and more, but still she didn't walk. It wasn't that she couldn't but it was more that she didn't have to. Regina carried her everywhere or pushed her in her pram. She was working from home, and the only time they really went out was to go to the Diner or to the Drug Store to refill Lily's prescription.

Lily's first steps came when she was about two. She was sat on the floor, the drip in her arm and Regina nipped out of the room to pick up another book to read to her. Lily was whining quietly, wanting her Mommy back. When Regina didn't return, having not heard Lily's whines from the other room, Lily moved onto her knee's, pushing her bottom into the air before standing wobbily. She took one step, then another, before falling. But she refused to give up. She pushed herself up again and continued trying to walk. She got six steps away before the drip needle pulled from her arm and she started to scream. This caught Regina's attention and she raced back into the room to find Lily toddling towards the door, still screaming. Regina scooped her up, grinning brightly as she carried her back to the drip  
"Clever girl Lilypad!" She said with a beam as she hooked her daughter back into the drip.  
"Just no walking when you're taking your medication, okay?" Lily was grinning brightly and she nodded slowly, not quite understanding but knowing her Mommy wanted her to say either yes or no.

Lily didn't need to walk again for a long while, but still Regina encouraged her to practice in the nursery, not wanting any harm to come to her beautiful little angel girl.

* * *

**Pauley: So? What do you think? Please /Please/ RP! No Flames, but Constructive Criticism is more than welcome :) Let me know people!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Pauley: Thank you to everyone who's reviewed! Here are the replies :D**

BelleChic: **Thank you for your kind words and I hope you enjoy the rest of the story :)  
**SharpestKnifeInTheDrawer: **Glad you're enjoying it, here's the next installment :)  
**reginamillz: **I know it's adorable, I was doing my best not to squee while writing it.  
**Marcie Gore: **Regina is a good Mommy. Also, Not telling ;-)  
**Guest: **(Hey, leave a name mayhaps?) No worries, Regina shall stay friendless with only Lily for company :)  
**mazyloron: **Your name made me giggle :D Also, I hope it doesn't, but I do hope it makes you feel and you enjoy it :)**

* * *

Lily's first day at Pre-school was heartbreaking for both Mother and Daughter. Regina worried about Lily all day, especially knowing that someone else had to give her her drip at lunchtime.  
Lily just wanted her Mommy. She'd never gone this long without being near Regina and the separation anxiety got to her and got to her bad. She didn't stop crying for the entire day and when lunchtime rolled around, she lashed out violently at the school nurse who tried to attach her drip, kicking and screaming unhappily. Eventually they had to give in and call Regina, who rushed straight over.

"Mommy!" Lily cried, racing across the playground, dodging past the teachers and running to her Mother. Regina scooped her up and started back towards the school, letting the little girl bury her head in her neck. Regina carried her back into the school and set her down in the nurses office, doing her best not to be overly-affectionate because she knew that it wouldn't help her baby girl. She showed the nurse how to attach the drip, ignoring Lily's cries for attention. She rooted through her bag and handed a book to the nurse with a sad smile.

"Just... read her a chapter or two of this and... she'll settle right down." The nurse nodded and Regina left, fighting her need to go back and comfort her daughter.

"_The Magicians Nephew_ by C.S. Lewis. _This is a story about something that happened long ago when your grandfather was a child._" The nurse started to read. As Regina had predicted, about two or three lines in, Lily stopped trying to wander off and a page in she finally stopped crying and curled her knees up into her chest to listen properly, even though she must have heard this story at least a hundred times.

The safe bubble was popped however once the nurse unhooked the drip and sent her back to class. As before, the moment Lily came into contact with any other children she started crying. No-one was able to soothe her and she continued to sniffle and cry until the day ended and she rushed out to her Mommy, hugging at her tightly. Regina lifted her and didn't resist cuddling her tightly and smothering her face with kisses. Lily clung to her Mother tightly and refused to let go for the rest of the afternoon, crying the second that Regina tried to put her down.

This pattern continued for the first month or so of Lily going to pre-school until she finally started to sorta make friends

By the time Lily was five, she seemed almost like a normal girl. Granted, she was a little skinnier than most kids and wasn't allowed to run around as much, because she got tired easy and she got sick a lot, but still she was okay.  
But still her favourite activity was spending time with her Mom and Regina had promised a family day and they were finally gonna go swimming in the lake.

"Mommy! Mommy C'mooon!" Lily shouted as she bounced on Regina's bed at half seven in the morning. Regina groaned and rolled over, wrapping an arm around Lily and pulling her down into the bed with her.

"Shhh baby, Mommy's still very sleepy. If you're good and you lay with Mommy for a little while, she'll make you special Pancakes." Lily thought for a moment before nodding and laying down in the bed, happily curling into her Mom. Regina gently kissed the top of Lily's head, smiling into the soft blonde curls as she let her eyes drift closed for a little while. They slept together peacefully for another hour before Lily was awake again, nudging Regina awake and demanding pancakes. Regina chuckled softly and lifted her little girl from the bed. She still preferred to carry Lily everywhere and Lily had no complaints about this course of action.

After breakfast, Regina made sure Lily had her swimsuit on under her clothes before lifting her up, making sure she had a bag full of things and a picnic before starting out towards the lake. Lily babbled happily away about how she was going to swim with fish and dolphins and sharks in the lake. Regina indulged her fantasies and nodded along with a smile. Reaching the lake Regina stripped them both off down to their swimming costume's before carrying Lily into the water.  
The small child shrieked violently at the cold water and clung tighter to her Mother, whimpering quietly. Regina backed up, lifting Lily out of the water, shushing her gently and gently stroking her hair. Lily pouted slightly and kicked her legs.

"No! Mommy we need to go /into/ the water silly!" Regina rolled her eyes and walked back into the water slowly. Lily slowly adjusted to the temperature and let go of Regina's neck. Regina kept a tight grip on Lily's waist, refusing to even consider letting go as Lily giggled and splashed in the water, babbling away almost to herself about fish.  
"An' the... the..." There was a pause in her constant monologue as she thought for a second  
"The puffly fish!" She exclaimed suddenly. Regina smiled and kissed the top of her daughters head.

"Puffer fish sweetie." Lily grinned and nodded, continuing on with her fish babble. After a while Lily turned to Regina with a smile.

"Mommy... Can I go under?" Regina raised an eyebrow before nodding, lowering Lily slowly into the water, dunking her head under for barely a moment before pulling her straight back up. Lily was grinning brightly and clapping.  
"Again! Again!" She demanded and Regina once again quickly dunked her under. This game continued for a while until Regina noticed that Lily was shivering and she quickly got her out of the water and wrapped her in a big towel, serving up a portion of soup from the thermos and seating the small blonde on her lap. Lily pouted for a while, still drinking the soup. That was until Regina pulled out _The Magicians Nephew_. Then she settled right down to listen to her read.

Unfortunately for the two of them, Regina didn't quite manage to get Lily out of the water quick enough and she still got a cold. This led to a week and a half of sniffling, soup and Disney Marathons watched from a blanket fort.

The question Regina had been dreaded came when Lily was seven. She came home from school, quiet and thoughtful. She was thoughtful a lot, but she was rarely quiet and Regina was worried. Very worried.  
"Lily? Is everything alright sweetie?" She asked once Lily was seated at the Kitchen table with a snack. It took a moment before Lily spoke.

"Do I have a Daddy?" She asked quietly, placing her crackers down. Regina sighed. She'd been dreading this day all of Lily's life and had already come up with an answer long ago.

"Yes sweetie, do you want to know about him?" Lily nodded eagerly and dropped herself down from her stool, climbing up onto Regina's lap to listen.

"Your daddy was a very good man, and he loved you very very much. But someone very bad took him away and now he can't come back." Lily listened in seriously, chewing her lip as she thought about what her Mother was saying.  
"So now it's just me and you LilyPad and Mommy's gonna take good care of her number one girl." Lily nodded and wrapped her arms tightly around Regina.

"Okay Mommy. I love you." Regina smiled and hugged her back gently, hating the fact that her daughter was so skinny she could feel every bone.

"I love you too sweetie."

* * *

**Pauley: Well? Read and Review please! Hope you enjoyed this Chapter, I'm finally reaching the point where this story all started in my head when the idea first popped up.  
Seriously though, leave a review :)  
Much loves, Pauley  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**Pauley: I'm glad everyone's enjoying my story :D  
**  
reginamillz: **I'm really glad you're loving this so much :) I'm struggling with Regina because I know she's affectionate with Lily but I'm trying to keep her in character, so it's a struggle  
**SharpestKnifeInTheDrawer: **I'm not telling where this is going, keep reading and you'll find out ;-)  
**Snow Whitex Prince Charming: **I'm glad you do :)  
**nahbois6: **Keep your theories dearie ;-) You'll see as it continues  
**Arekkusu Naitofaia: **I hope I don't really break your heart, and I hope you continue to enjoy reading this :)  
**SazzyJacks: **That question is dealt with here haha :D I hope you continue to enjoy this :D**

* * *

The next dreaded question arrived when Lily was ten years old. It was the end of the school year and Regina picked Lily up from school. She had her backpack full of stuff and a small plastic bag. She hugged Miss Blanchard's knee's gently and Regina bristled before grinning as Lily ran at her. Lily was still small enough that Regina could pick her up easily and although she hated the fact that Lily was so small, she was still happy she could carry her beautiful girl.

On the walk home, Lily was silent, which always worried Regina. Lily was very talkative and often chattered away happily about her day to Regina, so when she was silent there was generally something wrong.

Eventually Lily spoke quietly.

"Am I a freak Mommy?" Regina was taken aback and instantly thought of Bullies saying hurtful things.

"No baby. You are not a freak." Lily nodded into her mothers neck before speaking quietly again.

"Then... why am I the only one who's going to different class next year? Everyone else is staying in Miss Blanchard's class..." Regina sighed quietly.

"Listen beautiful, this is something very big. So Mommy will tell you when we get home okay?" Lily nodded seriously, pulling some of her hair into her mouth, a terrible habit she'd developed and no-one had managed to stop her yet. Regina just calmly removed the hair from her daughters mouth, ignoring her pout.

When they got home, Regina sat Lily on the couch, sitting next to her and taking a deep breath.

"I need you to hear me out, okay baby? Because have I ever lied to you?" Lily shook her head, looking at her Mom with wide and trusting eyes.  
"We used to live in a fairytale world, somewhere very special but a very bad lady wanted to hurt me badly and she cast a curse to send us all here. She tried to take you away from me, but I had a bit of magic to fix it so you got to stay with me. That's why you're the only one who gets older, because Mommy used magic to protect you." Lily chewed her lip, thinking it through before cuddling into Regina.

"Who was the bad lady Mom?" She asked quietly. Regina couldn't help but smirk.

"You'd know her as Snow White." Lily nodded and Regina kissed the top of her head gently. Perhaps having the other child come back and break the curse wouldn't be all that bad. She would love to see the look on Snow's face when her second daughter, the one she wasn't even meant to have, rejected her.

Regina noticed a decline in Lily when she turned about seventeen. Even though she was still having her drip every day she started to be more lethargic and tired, getting skinnier and complaining of strange ache's and pains. Regina had been preparing for this day since Lily was one, but now it was here, she couldn't deal with it. It hurt too much. It was a Saturday when Lily actually brought up what Regina was dreading. Lily and Regina were slumped on the couch together, watching Enchanted, one of Lily's favourite films, when Lily turned to look at her Mom.

"Am I going to die?" She asked, looking terrified and hopeful at the same time. Regina couldn't hold back the tears as she moved Lily so they were laying together, wrapping her arms tightly around her baby girl, ignoring the fact she could feel every bone in her body

"I'm gonna do everything I can to make sure you don't but..." She sighed, this was breaking her heart, but she never lied to Lily about her illness.  
"There... is a high chance you will." Lily nodded, burrowing into her Mom.

"Hey... Mom?"

"Yes Baby?"

"Can we go to England? If I get better? I wanna go see the tower of London and Big Ben and everything else out there. Can we?" Regina nodded, tears filling her eyes and her voice choking with emotion.

"Of course we can sweetie. When you get better, we'll go wherever you want to go."

* * *

**Pauley: I'm sorry this chapter was a little shorter than the others but... my feels just couldn't take writing anymore.  
Please Review :)  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**Pauley: I made this one longer than the others because the chapter before was shorter :) Hope you enjoy  
(P.S. I was working through writers block for the first part of this, so I apologise.)**  
SazzyJacks: **Updating now my dear :) And yes, Enchanted and London rule!  
**pinkcrazyness: **Here's your update hun :)  
**Roxy-Lea: **I do kinda wanna make someone cry, so fingers crossed right now. I don't know how long it will last, so fingers crossed it's long enough for you :)**

* * *

When Regina solved the problem of Lily being ill in a stroke of genius when Lily was napping on the couch, Alice in Wonderland playing quietly on the TV. She would stop Lily ageing, so she'd be safe! It was one week after Lily's eighteenth birthday and she was starting to rapidly deteriorate. Regina waited until Lily was awake before grinning brightly.  
"Hey Lilypad, guess what?" Lily shifted so she was sitting slightly.

"What?" She asked, her voice weak. The drip in her arm was constant now, providing nutrients and painkillers in pretty much equal doses.

"I think I know a way to keep you alive." Lily's face lit up brightly and she sat up, forgetting, just for a moment, the immense pain she was in. Regina explained her idea and Lily agreed.

She wasn't sure how she managed it, but she did and Lily slowly started responding to the treatment again now that she wasn't getting older any more.

A month or so later, Regina sat Lily down again and told her that she'd be getting a sibling, something that the blonde had been asking for since she was old enough to understand that she was an only child.

When Henry showed up, he and Lily became almost inseparable. So close in fact that Henry's first word was 'Lily' which made Lily cry happy tears and Regina beam proudly.  
When Henry was five and Lily was still eighteen, the first real argument happened between the two of them. Lily had a job at the Diner part time as something to do and Henry somehow managed to get hold of her work shirt and drew on it.

"Henry!" Lily exclaimed when she found her little brother, drawing in crayon on her shirt. She snatched the material up and Henry started to cry. Regina rushed up the stairs to see a very angry Lily holding the now ruined shirt. She quickly shooed her daughter out of the room and into her own, lending her a shirt and sending her off to work.

Lily didn't forgive Henry for nearly a week. As much as she loved her brother, she had been an only child for eighteen years so she wasn't used to people messing with her stuff. Thankfully she'd renovated a shack out in the woods, got a generator up so she had light and music and she went to sit there most days to read and draw and just... think.  
Recently however, her thoughts had been going down some dark and twisted routes. They scared her a little, but not enough for her to tell people. Her Mom had enough to worry about with being Mayor, having a three year old and her illness, she didn't need the added stress of Lily talking about all these things that didn't really matter.

She was reading a book she'd got recently from the library when she first came across the concept as more than just a small idea in the back of her head. She furrowed her brow as she read about the teen girl, starting to cry into the book before putting it down, wiping her eyes and drawing her knee's up to her chest as she thought. It would hurt but... she was in pain anyway and maybe this way it'd help her feel a little better.  
The next day she stole one of the big kitchen knives from work. She spent an hour just staring at it in her shack before re-reading the passage from the book, once again bringing herself to tears before carefully lifting the blade and pressing the tip to her thumb, wincing as it cut her thumb, sucking the wound into her mouth she went back to staring at the knife, twisting it and watching how the light glinted off the blade. She rolled up her trouser leg, she knew that if she went anywhere near her arms, her Mom would notice and that wouldn't end well. She pressed the knife to her ankle and drew it back slowly, watching the thin line of blood bubble up, closely followed by the blossoming pain and then sweet bliss. She was floating out of her body, watching herself from above. She was free. But the buzz didn't last long and before she knew it she was back in her body and feeling the pain of her life once again. She did it again and again, unable to get enough of the blissed out sensation of being out of her body and free from her problems.

It was quickly becoming a daily habit for her to go to work, or not, and then she'd go to her shack. She'd bought some sanitising equipment at the drug store without her Mom's knowledge and kept them stored in her shack, making sure to keep her equipment and her wounds clean, she knew better than to let them get infected, if an infection got in her blood it will kill her before she could explain what was happening.  
Before she knew it her legs were littered with cuts and scars and it wasn't enough. It still wasn't enough. She knew that now. She'd never be able to keep the bliss as long as she was alive. She'd been trying for four years to keep the feeling going on cuts alone and it wasn't working. Things just... they weren't right when she wasn't floating out of her head in the cut space.

It had been a normal day, almost like any other. Lily had taken Henry to school, gone to work and waited on tables, washed dishes and messed around with Ruby, making bad jokes and faux flirting, same as always. When she went to her shack she did what she always did. Put on a CD, read a few chapters before lifting up her knife, cleaned it and pulled up her trouser legs. But there was no clean leg left. So she rolled up her other trouser leg, but it was the same situation. She thought for a moment before bringing the blade to her wrist and pressed down, exactly the same as she did on her legs. What she didn't know was that the veins were closer to the skin there. The bliss lasted longer and Lily started to worry. Forcing herself back into her body she stumbled from the shack and back towards the town. She collapsed in front of Katherine's house. The blonde woman rushed from the house and lifted her up, carrying her inside and dialling nine one one before phoning Regina from the back of the Ambulance.

"Regina! You need to get to the hospital right now! Lily collapsed bleeding outside my house! We're in an ambulance now!" Katherine could hear Henry in the background asking Regina who was calling.

Lily was unconscious for three hours. Katherine took seven year old Henry to the cafe to keep him distracted while Regina sat vigil by her daughters bedside, examining the cuts and scars on her legs and feeling the tears well again and again. How had she not noticed her beautiful girl doing this to herself? She held Lily's uninjured hand gently and stroked the back of it with her thumb, humming the lullaby that always sent her baby to sleep.

When Lily opened her eyes, Regina exclaimed quietly and hugged her tightly, crying into her daughters shoulder, feeling Lily do the same, both mother and daughter shaking and sobbing together.

"Don't ever do that to me ever /ever/ again Lillian Faith Mills or so help me I will ground you for the rest of your life!" Regina scolded softly, still clinging to her daughter. Lily nodded into Regina's neck with a sob.

Regina lay Lily down gently and kissed her forehead  
"I'm going to go and get Henry, he's been worried." Lily nodded sadly and wiped at her eyes.  
Within minutes the hyperactive ball of seven year old was on Lily's bed, bouncing and hugging his sister tightly. Lily hugged back just as tightly, breathing in Henry's hair.

"Hey kid, you wanna read to me?" Henry nodded with a bright grin and Regina pulled _The Magicians Nephew_ from her purse. She'd taken to carrying a copy of it round since that incident on Lily's first day of Pre-school. She passed it to Henry who started to read confidently, having heard the book god knows how many times and he'd read it himself at least twenty times.

The next day Regina arrived at the hospital with something very special for her daughter. A certificate. An adoption certificate for a puppy from the pound. He was a Six Week old Alaskan Malamute puppy, which Lily instantly named Pyro.

She was kept in the hospital for another two days under observation before she was allowed home, but she had to go to weekly meetings with Dr Hopper, but they managed to arrange them so they were just before Henry's, so she'd just wait around for her brother.

Pyro grew quickly, and he was deathly loyal to Lily, accompanying her everywhere, sleeping in her bed with her and barking like a madman if she went near something sharp. He was also trained to recognise when she was getting sick and go to fetch Regina. And much to Regina's delight, he growled at Mary Margaret whenever he was near her and no-one understood it.

Things seemed to be going well enough for three years or so, Lily didn't end up in hospital again, she stopped cutting and was generally happier and healthier, although she did have to keep attending sessions with Archie, which she hated but did because the one time she'd skipped, Pyro had howled until someone found her and took her there. So now she went every week without fail.

* * *

**Pauley: Well? I hope you all enjoyed!  
Review and let me know what you think, pretty please?  
Also! On the Once Upon a Time tag on Omegle, I'm hanging around every so often doing an RP prompt based on this fic, so if you happen to find me, who knows, your idea may show up in the actual fic =D  
But anywho, REVIEW!**


End file.
